


On Our Side

by pallas_or_bust



Category: Aubrey-Maturin Series - Patrick O'Brian, Master and Commander - All Media Types
Genre: Hurt Jack, human!Surprise, shameless fluff, worried Stephen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-03
Updated: 2015-02-03
Packaged: 2018-03-10 06:45:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3280667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pallas_or_bust/pseuds/pallas_or_bust
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A ship looks after her captain, much to the astonishment of Stephen Maturin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	On Our Side

Stephen started up from his exhausted half-doze at the sound of women’s shoes clacking on the hospital floor. The culprit stood barely a dozen feet away, an elegant woman, petite and yet somehow fierce-looking.

“Excuse me, Madam, this is a private room.”

“I am here to see Captain Jack Aubrey.”

She was in the right place, then, though who she was and what her purpose might be Stephen had no idea. Hardly anyone knew they were in port; they had come in just after sunset in choppy seas, a dangerous maneuver deftly accomplished by Lieutenant Pullings, and Stephen’s shirtsleeves were still wet with blood from the surgery. Though he had extracted the bullet successfully he feared complications—calenture—infection. Jack was still weak from the bout of fever he had undergone after they had left Gibraltar, and he had lost a truly spectacular amount of blood. He needed quiet, peace, rest, and Stephen was going to give them to him if he had to (gently) slam the door in this woman’s face.

“Madam, it would be best if you would leave,” Stephen whispered, stepping forward such that he stood between her and Jack. “Rest is critical, critical, in cases such as these. He must sleep for a good while, and when he wakes I will give him your name, and I will send a message along if he wishes to see you, once he is well enough.”

Jack stirred, his brow creasing subtly.

A faint quirk of a smile appeared on the woman’s lips. “You don’t recognize me, Doctor?”

Stephen had scarcely bothered to look at her, but now he did. The entirety of her face pointed subtly towards her nose, which was long, thin, and well-crafted as a piece of bone china. Yet the overall impression was not of delicacy, but of decisiveness, strength of will, and high-spirited drive towards whatsoever she faced. Though her clothes were out of fashion, her hair going grey, she was unquestionably, irrefutably beautiful. He had never seen her before; he would have remembered.

“I do apologize, Madam, but—“

“She is _Surprise_ , Stephen.”

Stephen turned; Jack was awake, eyes clear, face pale but not bloodless; nor overly rosy as might have indicated fever. “You do well, my dear,” Stephen soothed, taking Jack’s wrist and examining his own watch, counting seconds and heartbeats against one another. Nail beds were tolerably pink, with surprisingly good refill of the capillaries; no streaks of red or undue tenderness around the wound. “You do very well.” He paused a moment, recalling what his friend had said. “I must have misheard—you said she has a surprise?”

“She is _Surprise_.”

Stephen glanced back up at the woman, who curtseyed.

“How do you do,” Stephen murmured, gobsmacked. “I—I, that is—“

“I only came to satisfy myself that Jack was well,” she said, moving to the side of the bed and kneeling down to give him a chaste kiss on the forehead. “You must try to get yourself hurt a little less often, Jack. It worries me so. Not that I do not trust the good Doctor to patch you up,” she said, with a nod to Stephen, “But it is so much better to not have to be patched up in the first place, don’t you agree, Doctor?”

“Certainly,” Stephen said, his heart still overflowing with relief. Relief, for Jack had no infection, no fever, and enough blood left in him to blush all over at _Surprise_ ’s kiss.


End file.
